Meet professional fine lace knitter Sheila Fowlie
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SHETLAND HAS long been famous for its fine lace knitting, and the beautiful, gossamer-like shawls produced by the islands’ knitters were highly prized during the reign of Queen Victoria. Often knitted using the finest cobweb-weight Shetland wool, and featuring many delicate and ornamental stitch patterns, such pieces were knitted by the most highly skilled Shetland women and were sold to discerning customers in London and beyond. Perhaps the most famous items produced by the islands’ knitters were the wedding ring shawls, so-called because they were fine and flexible enough to be pulled through a woman’s wedding ring, yet could often measure up to two metres square.
Today, the tradition of fine lace knitting continues to fascinate knitters around the world, and while there is no longer the large-scale cottage industry producing fine lace items for sale, there are still knitters making and selling spectacular items inspired by traditional designs. One such knitter is Sheila Fowlie, whose company Shetland Lace Shawls specialises in genuine Shetland fine lace, and whose delicate work has graced many a wedding and christening.
Like the Shetland fine lace knitters of old, Sheila learnt her skills at a young age. “Me and my Mum came to live in Shetland with my granny after my Dad died, and she taught me to knit before I went to the school,” Sheila recalls. “I think it was her way of keeping me out of mischief! Luckily I loved it, and that love has stayed with me ever since. The first piece of lace knitting I ever made was a lace scarf, and probably clothes for my dolls. I also knitted a circular hap for my cousin when she had her first baby.”
Having knitted all her life, Sheila decided to start up her own business selling her handmade creations after taking early retirement. “It just felt like the right thing to do and I’ve never regretted it. I’m doing something I love, and you can’t get much better than that!” Sheila says. Her business is based in Virkie, near the southern tip of
Shetland’s Mainland.
Her range of made-to-order items includes 1ply wedding shawls, veils and stoles, christening shawls, baby blankets, accessories, and lace ‘dags’ – elegant fingerless gloves. Sheila also takes commissions for special items such as one-of-a-kind shawls. “I try to knit whatever the customer wants - scarves, hats, stoles, shawls, blankets, gloves, stockings and jumpers, even a wedding dress. I especially like a challenge!”
When it comes to yarn, Sheila is happy to use whatever the customer wants. “I use all different types of yarn, from cashmere to cotton, although it’s mostly Shetland wool,” she explains. “I use the traditional method of construction mostly; I still knit my large square shawls in the traditional way, just as my granny
showed me, by first knitting four borders, then attaching them to a centre square. Many shawls nowadays are knitted from the centre outwards, but this does not produce the ‘riggies’
(garter stitch), which are a feature of a traditional Shetland shawl. However, I like trying out new ways of making things simpler, too. Some of my ideas work, and some don’t!”
When knitting her lace, Sheila tends to use slightly bigger needles than is usual. “This produces a much lacier look, almost ethereal in some cases,” she says. “Once the shawl is finished, it is dressed on a wooden stretcher specially made for the purpose.”
A range of traditional Shetland lace stitch patterns can be seen on Sheila’s work, such as ‘Tree of Life’, ‘Cat’s Paw’, ‘Print o da Wave’, and ‘Cockleshell’.
She loves many of Shetland’s famous patterns, but for versatility she prefers the ‘Bead’ pattern. “It is effective when used with all different weights of yarn, and can be knitted on large or small needles,” explains Sheila. “It is one of my students’ favourites when I teach workshops during Shetland Wool Week. I also like making up my own lace stitch patterns.”
Through Sheila’s website, customers can place an order for a particular item, specifying the yarn, colour and pattern they would like, and then Sheila makes the piece to order. Many of her wedding shawls take around 50 hours to knit; the most intricate, bespoke wedding and christening shawls can take 200 hours to design and make.
“My most challenging commission has probably been the wedding dress I knitted a few years ago, as I did not have a pattern, just a picture of the shape of dress the bride would like,” Sheila recalls. “I was very proud of how it turned out, and the bride looked beautiful. Another challenge for me was when I was asked to create a stole using the symbols used in the Baha’i religion for their bicentenary celebrations - I had to translate a Fair Isle type pattern into lace.”
Sheila loves to encourage other knitters to have a go at knitting Shetland fine lace, and her top tip is to “not be afraid!” despite the apparent complexity of this type of knitting. “Start with a simple lace pattern such as ‘Cat’s Paw’, and begin by using a thick yarn like a double-knitting weight and a needle sized 4mm or above,” she advises. “Once you familiarise yourself with the way the pattern works, and are confident in doing the yarn forwards and the decreasing, then you can go down in needle size and wool thickness. When starting out in lace, don’t worry too much about mistakes as your piece when finished will be unique! Learn to recognise where you’ve gone wrong, and strive to do it right the next time.”